Rank and file Tory MPs in revolt over gay marriage bill

Europe Correspondent

Against the move ... Senior Conservatives with a letter addressed to David Cameron. Photo: Reuters

LONDON: The British Parliament's imminent debate over gay marriage has sparked a last-minute Tory revolt.

David Cameron's coalition government plans on Tuesday to introduce a bill that will allow same-sex couples to marry in civil and religious ceremonies.

But almost two-thirds of the sitting Conservative MPs are opposed to the move, according to the bill's opponents.

They fear it will decimate grassroots support for a party already on the nose with the electorate, due to the stagnant economy.

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A new group called "Conservatives Grassroots" delivered a letter, signed by 20 senior party members, to Downing Street, London, on Sunday pleading for the vote to be delayed until after the next election.

The letter said a "significant proportion" of party members felt it "extremely distasteful" that the law was being fast-tracked through Parliament with limited time for debate.

They also said it would damage their re-election prospects.

"To do so now, when the future of Britain's position within the European Union and the integrity of our own union is in question and when the party trails 10 per cent behind Labour in the latest polls, is a policy that a very significant number of Conservatives cannot support," the letter said.

It cited a ComRes poll published at the weekend reporting that 20 per cent of Conservative voters would not support the party at the next election if same-sex marriage was legalised. Voting is not compulsory in Britain.

The Conservatives Grassroots organiser and local councillor, Ben Harris-Quinney, from the right-wing think tank the Bow Group, said the majority of Conservatives did not support gay marriage.

"It's being rushed through, there was no mandate for it in the 2010 Conservative manifesto or the coalition agreement, it was not mentioned in the Queen's speech setting out the government's policies," he said. "It is completely inappropriate to nip it in under the radar. Delaying until after the election would allow a proper debate for all the consequences, intended and unintended, to be fully debated."

Mr Harris-Quinney said gay marriage was also unpopular with ethnic minorities.

The Conservative MP David Burrowes, who has led opposition to the bill, claims up to 200 of the 303 Tory MPs could vote against the bill. The Sunday Telegraph newspaper in Britain put the size of the revolt at about 180 MPs.

Despite the split in the Conservatives, the bill is expected to pass the House of Commons with strong Labour and Liberal Democrat support.